Iranian Produced Fighter Aircraft

[BigsWick]

Hello.

First post.

A couple of weeks ago I read a story on the Internet that Iran recently unveiled 3 domestically produced fighters. I was hoping to get some information on them. Are they indigenous designs or are they simply copies of something else, maybe Russian or Chinese knock-offs?

Pictures would be cool.....

Thanks!

[alyster]

Actually they are mostly US knock-offs 

Well atlist 2 out of 3 are: Azarakhsh and Saeqeh. The third one on pictures atlist reminds me of Yak-130, however I'm not too sure of the link between them two.

You can see the pictures from google, I'm not going to paste them here one by one, but they are easy to find. 

And Welcome 

Edit: They are US knock-offs because US was one of the main arms supplier of Iran before the Islamic revolution in 1979. They still also have some F-14s in service. Had the revolution taken place few years later, they'd also have some F-16s. On the bright side they haven't been able to copy a Cat yet, just think if they'd fly home made Tomcats  Anyway they also singed a deal for 250 Su-30s, so I guess these new fighters with complicated names won't be the back bone of their air force. They also bought some tankers for the Suhkois and will probably have the capability to strike at Israel    No wonder the US is ready to send so much military aid to Mid-East.

But neither of it is going to matter. Iran is going to be a bunch of dust in max 2 to 3 years anyways. Even french agree with that 

[tigershark]

Basic F-5 knockoff's like alyster mention and if one was allowed access to Iranian bases you'll find a few less F-5s. 

Welcome

[alyster]

Basic F-5 knockoff's like alyster mention and if one was allowed access to Iranian bases you'll find a few less F-5s. 

IMO you are right, they aint worth nothing more than a few news stories.

[BigsWick]

Thanks for the information.

Yeah, they seem like little more than F-5 knockoffs to me too, but the twin-tailed Saeqeh looks kind of cool.

I find it funny that the Iranian leadership has so much contempt for the West, but they copy our fighter designs and continue to fly the F-14.

By the way, does anyone know roughly how many Tomcats remain in IRIAF service?

[RecceJet]

I reckon the Iranian air force should design the fighters for those PS2 Ace Combat games. The designs look good, I doubt their capability advantages though.

[Raptor]

Maybe it'll come out more efficient than the F-14. Who knows what these mid-east folks can come up with when they're desperate?

[Webmaster]

It's safe to say those F-5 mods will at least be more fuel and maintainance efficient than the F-14. 

About the cats, Iran is upgrading/refurbishing its Tomcats. Reportedly at least three had been 'modernised' by May 2007. 80 ordered, 79 delivered, 50-55 reported to be remaining in 2000 with 30 operational, IIRC Iran is managing to keep (or get) at least 24 in service today, which have been or will be upgraded. But you never know how much cannibalizing has taken place or how much has been reverse-engineered, so the actual number might become more or less.

BigsWick, I don't recall welcoming you, so I'll do it now: Welcome to MILAVIA!  

[Raptor]

Webby-

I didn't think about reverse-engineering... They might actually have a lot of success doing that...

[BigsWick]

Thanks for the welcomes guys!

I just finished reading a short book on the history of the F-14 in service with the Iranian Air Force. The author noted that some of his source material was questionable at the very least, but much of what he wrote was verifiable.

It appears that the Iranians had a good deal of success with the F-14 during the 1980-1988 campaign against Iraq. The author reported that very few F-14s were lost in combat against the best equipment the Soviets and French supplied to the Iraqis. In fact, most of the time the F-14s were outnumbered 2 or 3 or even 4 to one and still came out on top. He even went so far as to quote a higher-ranking Iranian pilot who claimed that he and his fellow pilots preferred the F-14 to the MiG-29. That really surprised me.

Again, I'm sure the book contained some exaggerations and inaccuracies, but I'm still amazed that even today the Iranians continue to work to keep their Tomcats in the air.

[Webmaster]

Let me guess: Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop?

Very interesting subject indeed, and I was going to write some more about the AIM-54 and F-14 in Iran here, but I think it's better suited for a new topic on the air combat, or wars & conflict board.

Let's get back on topic with the current status and programs.

[BigsWick]

Let me guess: Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop?

Very interesting subject indeed, and I was going to write some more about the AIM-54 and F-14 in Iran here, but I think it's better suited for a new topic on the air combat, or wars & conflict board.

Let's get back on topic with the current status and programs.

Yup, that's the book.  I too am very interested in the subject. Sorry to have drifted off topic.